The Personal Responsibility of Tax Reduction
“Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.
Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: Taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.“
- Honorable Learned Hand, U.S. Appeals Court Judge, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809 (1934).
The above quoted Federal Court decision clearly explains the facts on taxes and tax liability. Citizens need not confuse the Government’s duty to create a fair universal tax system as their personal duty. It is not the taxpayer's individual duty to draft federal tax returns to what they personally think will benefit the government. That is the responsibility of elected officials. The responsibility as a citizen is to operate in good faith within the tax framework and to legally abide by the rules. Our framed roles as taxpayers never expand beyond mere compliance.
For decades achieving “The American Dream” made you a hero. Not so today; in fact you’re the enemy, a cow to milk for government redistribution programs. Politicians have openly declared war the income and estates of those they dub “wealthy.” Recent studies show that 47% of Americans pay no income tax at all and about 40% receive a payment from the U.S. Government because their tax credits are larger than tax liabilities. In 2009 those earning $100,000 or more paid roughly 70% of all Federal income taxes. The effects, those earning $100,000 or more become the unpaid serfs of those who consume their wealth.
So long as all legal tax codes are followed, taxpayers are free to maximize any advantages or benefits existing in the law. The tax system is universally applied to all taxpayers. There is no legal, moral, ethical or patriotic duty to pay a penny more than the law mandates as Judge Hand stated above in Helvering v. Gregory.
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